Bush Names Scowcroft as National Security Adviser : His Orders Will Be ‘Wake Me’

President-elect George Bush named veteran government trouble-shooter Brent Scowcroft as national security adviser today and signaled that he will run the White House more aggressively than President Reagan has done.

Scowcroft--a pilot, retired Air Force lieutenant general, arms negotiator and national security adviser under President Gerald R. Ford--will replace Reagan’s national security chief, Lt. Gen. Colin L. Powell.

Scowcroft, a member of the three-man Tower Commission that investigated the National Security Council in the wake of the Iran arms-Contra aid scandal, will be taking over a job reformed and redefined largely on the basis of that panel’s recommendations.

‘A Trusted Friend’

“Brent is a trusted friend,” Bush said in announcing the appointment at a surprise news conference. “He understands the military, the State Department, the way the Hill works and the intelligence community as well.”

Bush made it clear that he intends to be more directly involved in the running of the government than Reagan, who is known for a detached management style in which he delegates major responsibilities to others.

Bush said he would be briefed personally on world developments every morning by the CIA and, later in the day, Scowcroft would weigh in with his view.

Scowcroft “has to have direct access, day and night,” Bush said. The vice president said his new national security adviser has the following orders: “Keep me informed. Wake me up. Shake me and wake me.”

Reagan Incident Recalled

The “wake me” comment was significant because presidential aides sometimes delayed passing information to Reagan and in one celebrated event did not wake him up to tell him about a dogfight between U.S. and Libyan jets over the Gulf of Sidra.

The Tower Commission report broadly criticized Reagan for his management style, saying the arms scandal may have been averted if Reagan had remained “aware of the way in which the operation was implemented and the full consequences of U.S. participation.”

Bush said Scowcroft would be “an honest broker” of national security information to the President.

Cautious With Soviets

Scowcroft, an intellectual force in the Republican foreign policy establishment, favors a cautious approach in developing U.S.-Soviet relations, and Bush said he shares that caution.

“But that should not be taken as a negative sign that I don’t want greater progress with the Soviet Union,” he said.

Bush said he would tell Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev as much when he and Reagan confer with Gorbachev early next month in New York City, where the Soviet leader is to address the U.N. General Assembly.

As he had Tuesday, Bush deflected questions concerning reports that he was planning to name former Sen. John Tower as his defense secretary. He complained that speculation on various appointments merely raises potential appointees’ hopes, which then can be dashed if “it doesn’t work out.”

Asked if he would soon put Tower “out of his misery, one way or the other,” he replied, “I’m asking you to do that.”

Though the timing of the Scowcroft announcement was a surprise, his selection was not. For weeks, he has been the leading contender for the job, viewed as a pragmatist who will bring a low profile to the White House.

Bush would not address speculation that Powell might become the first black member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but praised him for “coming in at a difficult time” after the Iran-Contra scandal. Bush said Powell turned in an “outstanding performance” and “I have great admiration for him.”